


Settle

by dormiensa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Beginnings, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Family, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 18:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4972480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dormiensa/pseuds/dormiensa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fred and George have successfully defied Umbridge and gotten out of her clutches.  But what sort of reception will they receive at The Burrow?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Settle

The twins landed in the front yard and sauntered toward the house. On their trip from Hogwarts, it was agreed that, dreadful as it was likely to be, they’d better have it out with Mum now than have the threat hanging like a thundercloud over the next few months as they tried to turn Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes into a success.

The door banged open and Molly came rushing out. “What’s happened? Why are you home? Is Ginny in some sort of trouble?”

“Hello, Mum!” Fred said a tad too brightly as he bent to kiss her cheek.

Molly’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve gotten yourselves into trouble, haven’t you? _What_ have you done to aggravate Umbridge this time? If _another_ one of her letters is coming by owl—” 

“Mum, do you know that ‘I must not tell lies’ scar is now permanent on Harry’s hand?”

“And she almost succeeded in trying to get him expelled because of the article in ol’ Xenophilius’ mag?”

“We reckon if we didn’t help in the fight—”

“She’ll be after Ron and Ginny next ’cause it’d just make her day to see Gryffindor finish last for Quidditch this year—”

“So we quit school and will be using our joke shop to assist in the rebellion—”

“Did you know that McGonagall awarded us ten points each for the fireworks? She _said_ it was for us Transfiguring our desks into hogs wearing frilly pink hats, but _we_ know that’s just her excuse. We changed a whole cage of rats into plates with cats on them, like those in Umbridge’s office, and she didn’t so much as give a sniff of approval.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’VE QUIT SCHOOL?” 

Fred slapped George on the arm for his overlong ramble about McGonagall, and with deliberate appeasement, they hung their heads to await the long verbal lashing. Even though they’d expected it, years of conditioning still caused them to cringe as the barrage issued forth. Typical comments like “wasted lives” and “foolish” and “never build a Ministry career now” were mingled with “what to do with Dumbledore gone” and “how are you supposed to protect Ron and Ginny and Harry now that you’ve left as well”. They winced at that last comment. 

“—GIVE UP! I’M GETTING YOUR FATHER TO DEAL WITH THIS!” And with that, Molly stormed inside toward the fireplace, ignoring her sons’ protests, and poked her head through.

A moment later, a panicked Arthur scrambled out of the fire. “Molly, what’s happened! Are the children all right?”

“YOUR SONS HAVE SEEN FIT TO RUIN THEIR LIVES BY QUITTING SCHOOL!” Molly burst into tears and buried her head into Arthur’s chest, too distraught to remember that his wound was still healing. 

Arthur bit his lip so as not to let out his moan of pain. He wrapped his arms around Molly and rubbed small circles across her back. He finally looked around and located the nervous faces of Fred and George. “Why?” he asked quietly, and the twins flinched at the defeated tone. 

The twins looked at one another. The brilliance of their plan didn’t seem so clever now that they were home. But it wasn’t as if they could reverse their decision. Squaring his shoulders, George started explaining, Fred supplementing with anecdotes of what was _truly_ happening at the school, contrary to what the _Prophet_ and Umbridge’s Owls were claiming, but even as they justified themselves, their reasons sounded more and more childish and rash. Molly was gently shushed by Arthur on several occasions.

Finally, with a half-hearted “... and that’s why we left”, Fred and George lapsed into silence. 

Arthur carefully manoeuvred Molly onto the sofa and gestured for the twins to sit. He cleared his throat. “Well, while I don’t think your method of upstaging Umbridge was the wisest means, it _will_ give the students courage to see her authority flouted. Hush, Molly. There’s no point in fussing over it. You know the boys can’t go back to school, so we must figure out what the next step is. We must support those still trapped at Hogwarts, especially now that they don’t have Dumbledore to protect them. How soon can your joke shop be opened, boys?”

“W-well, we’ve run out of fireworks, so we’ll need to replenish those. That should only take a week or so. And we’d have to organize the shelves and make sure we’ve got enough stockpiled for a week’s worth of sales. I guess we could be opened in three to four weeks, earliest?” Fred replied.

“You’d better get started soon, then. And I’d suggest you strum in some early sales by offering a special discount on your _harmless_ sweets to parents with children in the first three years; perhaps even free shipping. And while you’re wrapping up the parcels and addressing them, you can share some of the truth about what’s really going on. Encourage them to write complaint Owls to the _Prophet_.” Arthur smiled at the pair of incredulous looks. “Courage comes in many forms, and not all have to be directly confrontational. There are still very heated discussions at the Ministry over Harry’s interview about Voldemort.” Arthur murmured soothingly in Molly’s ear as she squawked. “Fudge and his supporters are angrily denying the claims and trying their best to discredit Harry, of course, but I’d say majority, whether vocally or not, are coming ’round. And they are preparing. They don’t want to be caught unawares as last time.

“Now, why don’t you boys head upstairs and rest. We’ll call you down when supper is ready. I’ll see if Bill can take a day or two off to help you move into the shop. Come, Molly, let me send an Owl to Perkins that I’ll be home the next few days and to only contact me if there’s an emergency, and then I’ll help you with supper.”

The next few weeks were a mad blur of activity and organized chaos as the twins moved into 93 Diagon Alley and began setting up. Bill took a week off to help build shelves and decorate the interior and exterior to eye-watering satisfaction. To the twins’ astonishment, Molly showed up one day and insisted on helping. She knew better than to ask what sorts of mischievous charms were being placed into such products as Canary Creams and Puking Pastilles, but there was no question that she was a practiced hand at baking sweets and confections, so she did up batch after batch and left the finishing touches to them. And when she wasn’t busy helping stockpile, she was bringing over meals and making sure their upstairs living quarters didn’t smell too foul.

The night before their grand opening, after their parents had gone home—Arthur having given them pats of encouragement and Molly lung-collapsing hugs—the twins stood in the middle of their joke shop and stared around in awe. 

Fred draped an arm across George’s shoulder. “We did it.”

“Yeah.”

They looked at one another. Then grinned. “ _I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: moving day


End file.
